Monday December 19, 2011 11:17 am

HBO GO coming to Time Warner Cable

Time Warner Cable on Friday announced that it has signed a deal to provide its customers with access to HBO GO, the streaming service from the popular cable channel.

Cinemax subscribers will also be able to access content via MAX GO.

Time Warner will kick off a beta test of both services shortly, and it will launch to all Time Warner Cable customers who subscribe to HBO and/or Cinemax in the next month.

In a blog post, Time Warner spokesman Jeff Simmermon said the beta was needed to "keep things running smoothly for everyone."

"We are working with HBO and our internal tech teams right now to determine the parameters of that beta trial, and will absolutely announce more specific details as soon as we can," he wrote. "Once started, that beta trial should be overwith very quickly, and our customers will be streaming all of their favorite HBO shows shortly thereafter."

HBO GO is accessible online via HBOGo.com and via the Roku set-top box, but subscribers can also watch on mobile devices, including the iPad, iPhone, and Android devices.

MAX GO is also available online and via the iPad, iPhone, and Android devices.

Once connected, HBO subscribers can access more than 1,400 titles online, including every episode of every season from current HBO series like Game of Thrones, True Blood, and Boardwalk Empire, as well as older options like The Sopranos and Sex and the City. HBO GO also includes HBO original films, miniseries, sports, documentaries, specials, and feature-length movies.

MAX GO will include about 400 Cinemax titles online.

The services allow users to create watchlists of content for later viewing, and includes extras like interviews, recaps, and behind-the-scenes clips. You can customize your view in slideshow, grid, or list format, and HBO GO lets users sign up for alerts when new episodes of favorite shows are posted online.

To access, users must subscribe to Time Warner Cable, HBO (or Cinemax), and have a high-speed Internet connection. Mobile devices must have at least a 3G connection. It is only available in the United States. Once enabled, go to HBOGo.com or MAXGo.com and sign in with your Time Warner Cable user name and password to start watching.

HBO Go first launched in February 2010 with VerizonFiOS. It allowed subscribers to watch HBO content via the Internet, and later expanded to AT&T U-Verse and DirecTV. According to the HBO GO Web site, the service is also on Charter Communications, DISH Network, Suddenlink, WOW!, and Comcast Xfinity, and beta versions are available for Cox Communications and RCN.

HBO first announced plans to stream its content to portable devices in August 2010, with the service making its debut on iOS and Android devices in May.

Competition in the streaming video market has heated up in recent months, with major cable providers taking their content online via "TV Everywhere" and companies like Netflix, Vudu, and Boxee suggesting users might be able to cut the cord. HBO has never authorized its content to be streamed on Netflix. In a note to shareholders earlier this year, Netflix said its largest competitor over time will likely be a cable channel that improves its Internet video on-demand services, like HBO GO.

This article, written by Chloe Albanesius, originally appeared on PCMag.com and is republished on Gear Live with the permission of Ziff Davis, Inc.